The Peru Gazette

Source: Oneida Indian Nation updates face mask policy at Turning Stone, other casinos and properties – syracuse.com

Source: Weekend storm claims the life of Mooers man | Sun Community News MOOERS | As crews continue to restore power and deal with widespread damage from the weekend wind storm, one Northern Tier family is now mourning the loss of a local man who died in the heigh

Developer David Byrne

By John T. Ryan 

Peru – Plans for a solar farm on the Moffat property at 3831 Route 22 are moving forward. The Peru Planning Board gave its conditional stamp of approval at its December 8th Zoom meeting. The Board declared that the project would not have a negative environmental impact according to the terms of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR). 

Along with complying with its submitted plans, the developer David Byrne, President of RENUA Energy, must comply with two Peru Solar Law provisions prior to a building permit being issued – the decommissioning bond amount and the nature of a required public benefit contribution. 

Peru’s Zoning Law requires a decommissioning bond sufficient to remove the solar system and any ancillary structures, plus repair any property damage. It also requires a 2% annual inflation escalator clause over a 30-year minimum. David Byrne said decommissioning costs are usually determined near the end of construction. However, after this meeting, Code Enforcement Officer told the Peru gazette that Planning Board would determine the bond amount before granting final project approval. In fact, Byrne submitted a decommissioning plan and suggested a bond amount of $175,000 on Friday. December 10th. 

The Zoning Law also requires that Tier 3 solar developers make a public benefit contribution in the amount of 1% of the project’s total value. Byrne told the Board that he estimates that the project will cost about $8 million depending on several factors, including supply-chain issues. The law suggests such benefits as an electric vehicle charging station, sidewalks, purchasing ecologically significant land, bus shelters and bike racks, public park improvements, LED street lights, and urban tree planting/greenery. Byrne said he would work with the assessor on determining the fair market value and that his company has previously installed charging stations. 

Click here to view Peru’s Solar Law

Click here to view the previous Peru Gazette Solar Farm story. It has more project details. 

Source: Small dairy farmers eligible for an increase in subsidies – VTDigger

Source: Zac Brown Band coming to Endicott in August – syracuse.com

555 Peru customers without power as of 5:28 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 12th.

NYSEG provides electricity service to 2,391 customers in Peru.

As of 2:23 p.m., Sunday Peru has over 858 customers without electric service Source: List of Electricity Outages

A huge root system

After last night’s heavy rain and wind, it’s surprising that the sounds of chain saws are being heard almost everywhere today in Peru. Joanne Kennedy was kind enough to share photos of one uprooted tree on her property and several downed trees on the Peru walking trail

Joanne and Bruce Kennedy’s property.

Peru Walking Trail

Peru Walking Trail

Bucky says, “What happened? Peru Walking Trail.

Source: NBC5’s Tom Messner guest conducts Vermont Symphony Orchestra during holiday concert

December 11, 2021 at 7 p.m. 

We may have missed about two units because of a 30-second technical difficulty. 

Dick’s Sporting Goods in The Champlain Center Mall was honored to host a Meet and Greet for the New York State Championship Girls Soccer team from AuSable Valley High School on Saturday, December 11th. Several players from the winning team were on hand signing autographs, handing out giveaways and talking to young athletes about their accomplishments.  “We were very excited to host this event and recognize these young ladies for all their hard work this season,” said Greg Mills, Store Manager of Dick’s Sporting Goods. “Bringing the State Championship to a school in the North Country is a great honor and we wanted to do something to thank the players, coaches and the AuSable Valley School district.”

If you’ve ever considered being a foster parent, read this article (buy the paper if necessary). There are many options that many people are not aware of. Source: DSS to start new round of foster parent training | News | pressrepublican.com

Source: Miami developer defends Jay resort proposal | News, Sports, Jobs – Adirondack Daily Enterprise

Source: $10 million for Tupper Lake | News, Sports, Jobs – Adirondack Daily Enterprise

Assemblyman Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake) announced that a bill he authored to help stop the spread of invasive aquatic species in the Adirondacks was signed by Governor Hochul today.

“I am proud to have authored this bill that will help combat aquatic invasive species in the Adirondack region and I want to thank Governor Hochul for signing this bill today. Invasive aquatic species present a serious threat to both our environment and our economy. These pests carry harmful diseases which can infect native plants and animals and damage local ecosystems. Once these species spread, attempting to contain them can be extremely expensive and time-consuming. This bill will prevent spread before it starts by instituting regular inspections and by educating boaters, which will not only save time and money but also better safeguard our environment as well as protect land values for property owners.”

The measure extends the 2014 aquatic invasive species measures that recently expired and builds upon the law which will authorize the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to establish several inspection stations across the Adirondack Park as a precautionary measure against the propagation of invasive species. The stations authorized by the bill can be set up at any location in the Adirondack Park and within a ten-mile radius of its border, and would provide certifications for inspection and decontamination in addition to providing direct education and outreach to boaters, which will help prevent the introduction and spread of invasive species.

Source: Gov. Hochul ups war on aquatic invasive species | Sun Community News ALBANY | Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed legislation to allow the installation of inspection stations in an effort to protect against aquatic invasive species along several locations in the

Grand Isle, VT – The Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) seeks proposals for a program that will implement innovative enhancements to best management practices (BMPs) on farms in the New York portion of the Lake Champlain Basin in 2022. These enhanced BMPs will help reduce phosphorus runoff, a prominent threat to clean water in Lake Champlain. Up to $50,000 is available to support the program.

Innovative enhancements to BMPs are practices that go beyond the required benchmarks and fulfill advanced conservation components of a farm’s environmental management plan. The grant is intended to fund practices in nutrient management, cropland conservation and pasture management that are often under-supported.

The program will focus on practices that are tailored to the specific conditions of individual farms. The enhanced BMPs will help meet the goals of the farms’ New York Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) Tier 3 plan by reducing phosphorus pollution and improving farm viability.

The successful applicant will provide outreach to and identification of farmers near or adjacent to water bodies in the New York portion of the Lake Champlain, provide technical assistance and implement BMP enhancements, and document projects.

This work will help achieve the Clean Water and Healthy Ecosystem goals of LCBP’s long-term management plan Opportunities for Action (plan.lcbp.org). It is supported by funds awarded to NEIWPCC on behalf of the LCBP by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Proposals are due January 28, 2022 at 12pm EST. The full request for proposals is available on the LCBP website at lcbp.org/grants. For more information, contact Myra Lawyer at (518) 897-1241 ormyra.lawyer@dec.ny.gov.

Source: North Country airports will get more federal pandemic funding | NCPR News

The Town of Peru is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Town Board

Time: Dec 13, 2021 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84568496824?pwd=OHBFbU1wZU8wRjJqMTZmZWFDalZjdz09

Meeting ID: 845 6849 6824

Passcode: 677177

One tap mobile

+16465588656,,84568496824#,,,,*677177# US (New York)

+13017158592,,84568496824#,,,,*677177# US (Washington DC)

Dial by your location

+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)

+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

Meeting ID: 845 6849 6824

Passcode: 677177

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keBzHB2U6b

COVID-19 cases have increased dramatically across the North Country over the past few weeks with Franklin County reporting the highest number of daily new cases last week. Every county in the North Country is currently under a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is in desperate need of state resources to help them address the rise in cases, especially as the omicron variant continues to rise.

At the height of the pandemic, the state-operated two vaccination sites in the North Country and various testing sites. Since the state closed the vaccine clinics, folks across the region have found difficulty scheduling vaccine appointments, especially as the FDA approved the booster shot and the vaccine for children aged 5-11.

There have been similar difficulties scheduling COVID-19 tests since the state sites were closed where many have found it nearly impossible to get tested in a timely fashion. Due to issues with health insurance companies not covering tests authorized under standing orders, hospitals and medical providers require doctors’ notes to obtain tests. Since doctor notes are often difficult to obtain, many find Walgreens to be the easiest way to get tested but often have to wait 7-10 days for an available appointment. Others are spending upwards of over a hundred dollars for molecular or antigen rapid tests from a pharmacy.

In September, November, and last week, Assemblyman Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake) wrote letters to the Governor asking for state testing and vaccination sites to be reopened. “State testing and vaccination sites are being opened across the state and the region continues to see a surge in COVID-19 cases, yet there has been no discussion from the State to reopen testing and vaccination sites in the North Country,” said Assemblyman Jones. “Constituents have repeatedly contacted my office asking for help getting the vaccine or booster shot or to find a testing site and one constituent who is a cancer survivor told me that she had to travel all the way to Albany to get her booster. The North Country stands ready to receive additional resources for vaccination and testing residents to respond to the rise in COVID-19 cases,” Jones said.